JP2002366565A - Image storage system - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an image storage system capable of coping with specification change of an image pickup apparatus and easily retrieving image information. SOLUTION: The image storage system is constituted of a digital camera 13, a cellular telephone 20 having a position detecting means 26 and a data base 10 on the Internet 11 and the cellular telephone 20 associates image data photographed by the digital camera 13 with positional information being output of the position detecting means, transmits and stores the result to/in the data base 10.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

The present invention relates to an image storage system capable of storing image information, time information and position information in association with each other.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art As a prior art of such a system, there is a wireless portable terminal device described in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. Hei 10-150625. This device includes a digital camera unit for capturing an image, and a GPS for measuring an imaging position of the captured image.
The portable terminal device integrally includes a receiving unit, a CPU that measures time at the time of capturing an image, and a wireless unit that transmits information to the outside.

According to the above-mentioned publication, when an image is taken, imaging position information and imaging time information are generated, the image data, the imaging position information, and the imaging time information are stored in a RAM in association with each other. It is disclosed that when an image data transmission request is issued by a user, imaging position information and imaging time information are read from the RAM together with the image data, and wirelessly transmitted to a transmission destination by a wireless unit.

On the other hand, in response to diversification of user needs in recent years and improvement of device performance due to technological progress, etc., low cost of a variety of image pickup apparatuses having different specifications such as a zoom magnification of an image pickup lens and the number of pixels of an image pickup element. There is a demand for rapid development.

[0005]

DISCLOSURE OF THE INVENTION Problems to be Solved by the Invention
In the apparatus described in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 0625, since the digital camera section and other functional sections are integrally formed, it is necessary to change the design of the entire apparatus in order to develop a product having different specifications. Was.

Accordingly, a first object of the present invention is to provide an image storage system capable of promptly responding to a change in the specifications of an imaging device. A second object of the present invention is to provide an image storage system that can easily access stored image information.

[0007]

In order to achieve the above object, a first image storage system according to the present invention comprises: an image pickup apparatus including an image pickup means, a time measuring means, a short-range communication means, and a release means; A portable information terminal including a measuring unit, a short-range communication unit, a storage unit, and an image display unit, wherein the imaging device responds to an operation of the release unit by outputting image information output by the imaging unit and the time The time information output by the measuring means is transmitted to the portable information terminal by the short distance communication means, and the portable information terminal displays the image information received via the short distance communication means on the image display means. In addition, the portable information terminal output from the position measuring means, the image information, and the time information are stored in the storage means in association with each other.

A second image storage system according to the present invention includes an image pickup apparatus including an image pickup means, a time measurement means, a short distance communication means and a release means, a position measurement means, a short distance communication means, an image display means and a telephone communication. Means, and a database means on the Internet, wherein the imaging device outputs image information output by the imaging means and output by the time measurement means in response to an operation of the release means. And transmitting the time information to the portable information terminal by the short-range communication means. The portable information terminal displays the image information received via the short-range communication means on the image display means, and performs the position measurement. Means for associating the position information of the portable information terminal, the image information, and the time information output by the means with a database on the Internet by the telephone communication means. Wherein the transmitted and received between the scan unit.

A third image storage system according to the present invention comprises an imaging device, a portable information terminal, and database means on the Internet, and stores information relating image information taken by the imaging device and positional information to portable information. In the image storage system that transmits from the terminal to the database means and stores the same, when the coordinate information and the scale information for search are received from the portable information terminal, the server of the database means stores the coordinate information and the scale information in the image information. Obtaining a corresponding map image, selecting image information corresponding to the map based on the position information associated with the image information stored in the database, counting the number of the selected images, and A pictogram of a size corresponding to the number of images is created, and this pictogram is made to correspond to the position information of the selected image information. Synthesized in FIG images to create a composite map data, the combined map data and transmits to the portable information terminal.

[0010]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. First, FIG. 1 shows a conceptual diagram of the present invention.

A digital camera 13 as an image pickup device has a clock means 15 as time measuring means for outputting time data.
And an optical system for shooting and a CCD (Charge Coup Led Devic)
e) and CMOS (Complementary Metal-Oxide Semicondu
ctor), a release means 18 such as a release switch or a remote controller, a short-range wireless communication means 19 such as Bluetooth, and time data such as date and time output by the clock means 15. A memory 14 capable of temporarily storing image data captured by the image capturing means, and a CPU (Central Proc)
essing Unit) 17 and the like.

A portable telephone 20 as a portable information terminal transmits data between a portable telephone communication means 21 connectable to the Internet 11 via an external base station 12 and a short-range wireless communication means 19 of the digital camera 13. Short-range wireless communication means 25 for performing communication, image display means 23 for displaying image data received from the digital camera 13, GPS for receiving a signal from the artificial satellite 14 or the like and measuring the position of the mobile phone 20 And a memory 24 as storage means for storing the position data (latitude, longitude, altitude, etc.) detected by the position detection means 26, the image data and the time data in association with each other.
And input means 27 for the operator to input character data and various data described later, and the CPU 22 for controlling these.

A storage device such as a hard disk drive (HDD) on the server 9 is provided on the Internet 11 and constitutes a database 10. For example, in the image storage system according to the first embodiment, when the photographer of the digital camera 13 operates the release unit 18 to perform photographing, the image data captured by the image capturing unit The time data output by the clock means 15 is sent from the digital camera 13 to the mobile phone 20 via the short-range wireless communication devices 19 and 25, and the received image data is displayed on the image display means 23 of the mobile phone 20. At the same time, the position data of the portable information terminal when the image data output by the position detecting means 26 is received, the image data, and the time data are stored in the memory 24 in association with each other.

In the system of such an embodiment, the image data taken by the image pickup means of the digital camera 13 is displayed on the image display means 23 of the mobile phone 20, so that the digital camera 13 does not necessarily need an image display device. The size and cost can be reduced accordingly. Since the memory 24 stores the image data, the time data, and the position data as a set, when the photographed image data is displayed or read again, it is easily searched based on the photographing place and the photographing date and time. be able to. Further, since the position detecting means is provided in the mobile phone 20, the digital camera 13 can be reduced in size and simplified. Furthermore, since the system includes the digital camera 13 and the mobile phone 20, it is possible to quickly and inexpensively cope with a change in the specification of the digital camera 13, such as a change in the zoom magnification or the number of image pickup device images.

In the image storage system of the second embodiment, the position data, the image data and the time data in the first system are stored in the memory 24 of the mobile phone 20 instead of or added to the storage. Then, from the mobile phone communication means 21 via the mobile phone base station 12,
The data is sent to and stored in the database 10 on the Internet 11.

A database 10 on the Internet 11
For example, a storage device such as an HDD on the server 9 can be used, and it is easy to have a huge capacity of several tens of terabytes or more, and image data is stored in the memory 14 in the digital camera 13 or the mobile phone 20. The photographing can be performed virtually without limitation, without being limited by the capacity of the memory 24 inside. Since the image data is stored in the database 10 on the Internet 11, the target image can be easily searched and downloaded from anywhere and can be displayed on the image display means 23 of the mobile phone 20. Further, since the image data, the time data, and the position data are stored as a set in the database 10, when displaying or reading out the photographed image data again, it can be easily performed based on the photographing place and the photographing date and time. Can be searched.

In the image storage system of the third aspect, the character data input by the input means 27 is stored in the memory 26 of the mobile phone 20 or the database 10 on the Internet 11 in association with the image data. Since the image data can be searched using the character data, the ease of search is further improved. The input means 27 is provided in the mobile phone 20 in the above description, but may be provided in the digital camera 13.

As an additional mode, a default scale or a scale input by the input means 27 is transmitted from the mobile phone 20 to the Internet 11 in order to display a map image on the image display means 23 of the mobile phone 20. Can be When the map image is stored in the database 10, the map image data is used. When the map image is not stored in the database 10, the map image data stored in a database on a server such as another service provider is used. Is used.

The mobile phone 20 obtains a map image from the database and displays the map image on the image display means 23. Further, the image data captured at the latitude / longitude position included in the range of the map image matching the scale is stored in the memory 2 based on the image data and the position data.
4 or from the database 10. Then, a circle mark having a size corresponding to the number of matching image data, that is, the number of shot images is combined with the map image and displayed according to the shooting location. The image synthesis may be performed by the server 9 on the Internet 11. In such an image storage system, image data can be visually searched using the displayed map.

Next, FIG. 2 shows an external view of a digital camera according to an embodiment of the present invention. A zoom camera with a built-in strobe, a zoom switch 34, a release switch 33, a mode switch 31, and a strobe light emitting unit 30 are arranged on the upper surface, and a finder window 35 is provided on the back and three LEDs are provided beside the finder window 35.
(Light Emitting Diode), and an LCD (Liquid Crystal Display) for displaying the camera status is arranged. On the back side, there is a lid 36 of a storage room for the memory card 37.

The three LEDs are green 38, orange 39, and blue 40 from the top, and the green LED 38 is used to display a focused state. The green LED 38 is turned on when in focus, blinks when out of focus, and inhibits the release. . The orange LED 39 is a strobe light emission display. The light is turned on when the light is emitted, and blinks when the light is not charged and the light cannot be emitted though the light is required. The blue LED 40 is a communication status display. The blue LED 40 lights when communication is possible and storage in the database is possible, and communication between the digital camera and the mobile phone or between the mobile phone and the database is disabled. 8H when it can be stored in the internal memory or the memory of the mobile phone
A warning is issued by blinking at a period as fast as z, but photography is permitted (or photography may be arbitrarily prohibited). And when communication is not possible and memory is used up, 2Hz
Flashes slowly to prohibit release.

This system is a method of transmitting and receiving image data by wireless communication using short-range wireless communication means or mobile phone communication means. For example, when the power of the mobile phone is turned off, communication between the digital camera and the mobile phone is performed. May not be possible, or communication between the mobile phone and the base station in the building may not be possible. In such a case, the number of images to be shot is limited by the storage capacity of the memory card 37 of the digital camera, and a careless shooting may cause a necessary scene to be missed. Therefore, when the blue LED 40 flashes in the finder, it is possible to know from the LCD display whether the memory card is absent or the communication is defective. Since the communication status is displayed in the viewfinder, the photographer can know whether or not the communication status is poor even when the user is concentrated on the finder, and can take a picture carefully or check the power of the mobile phone.

The LCD has icons (picture display) 42 of a memory card 37, a mobile phone, and a database, and a display of a storage capacity of image data and the like. The situation can be visually confirmed. A normal display indicates that the memory card is present and communication is normally performed, and a display of x indicates that there is no communication or that communication is not possible.

Further, by operating the mode switch 41 for selecting the image compression ratio, the compression ratios (Hi), (Md) and (Lw) can be selected. (Hi) is for an image to be viewed on a small screen of a mobile phone, and records only image data with a very high compression ratio. (Md) stores image data with a very high compression ratio similar to that of (Hi) and image data with a low compression ratio and no problem even if it is greatly expanded. The image data with a very high compression ratio is data that does not increase the communication volume when downloaded from a database after shooting and displayed on a mobile phone. And (Lw) is (H
The image data having a very high compression ratio as in the case of i) and the uncompressed data are stored.

Next, FIG. 3 shows one form of an external view of a portable telephone used in the embodiment of the present invention. There is a microphone 56, a speaker 52, an antenna 51 which is a function for calling, a large LCD display 53 as a mobile phone capable of displaying images, a key matrix 55 for inputting a telephone number and a homepage address, There is a set key 54. The position of the cursor in the LCD display unit 53 can be moved by the up / down / left / right set keys 54.

Next, FIG. 4A shows an internal configuration of a digital camera used in the embodiment of the present invention. An optical finder 60 having an in-finder display unit connected to the CPU 65 and an imaging optical system 61 having an image sensor are provided. Also, there is a flash unit 63 including a charging unit and a light emitting unit, which emits light when shooting requires flash emission. The release switch 64 is of a two-stage type and includes a first-stage 1R switch and a second-stage 2R switch. First, distance measurement, photometry, and communication are started with the 1R switch, and then imaging is performed with the 2R switch. There is a relatively small-capacity memory 66 at a level capable of storing about several tens of images, and an external display 67 for displaying the shooting status of the camera. Since the image is displayed on the display unit of the mobile phone, the display inside the camera does not need to display the image, so that a relatively inexpensive LCD does not cause any problem.
There is also a Bluetooth section 68 for short-range communication, which communicates with a mobile phone. The Bluetooth unit 68 includes a device No storage unit, a modem, an AD / DA circuit, an interface (IF) unit, an RF unit, and an antenna. There is a CPU 65 for controlling these, and there is a battery 69 for supplying power to the entire electric circuit. Mainly communicates with Bluetooth, but USB for cable connection
A unit 71 and an IEEE 1394 unit 72 are provided, and communication with a personal computer is also possible. The time is counted by the clock unit 70, the date is displayed on the external display 67, and the time data at the time of shooting is stored in the memory 66 together with the image data.
Send to mobile phone or database. A mode switch 73 for switching modes is provided.

Next, FIG. 4B shows an embodiment of the internal configuration of the portable telephone used in the embodiment of the present invention. There is a microphone 81 for communication, a speaker 82, a key matrix 84, and a W-CDMA unit 92 which is a wireless communication circuit for a mobile phone. The user of the mobile phone can be specified by the IP address of the removable IP address card 91. The information of the IP address card 91 is a W-CDM including a modem, an AD / DA circuit, an interface (IF) unit, an RF unit and an antenna.
Communication enters the A section 92. There are an up / down / left / right set switch 83, an image display unit 85, a built-in memory 86 for storing images and the like, and a removable memory card 87. Also,
A CPU 80 for controlling these components, and a battery unit 89 for supplying power are arranged.

Further, there is a circuit equivalent to the Bluetooth section 90 of the digital camera, and communication is performed between the digital camera and the Bluetooth standard. It is an international standard and has high communication reliability. In addition, a GPS (Global Positioning System) unit 88 is used to detect a shooting location.
There is. It consists of an RF circuit, an IF section, and an AD section, and detects radio waves from three or more artificial satellites to detect accurate longitude and latitude. When the captured image is stored in the database, the position information is also stored. It is also possible to detect three or more base stations of a nearby mobile phone and detect position information based on a relative position from the base station. Further, the detection accuracy may be improved by using both the position detection based on the radio wave from the artificial satellite and the position detection using the base station.

Next, FIG. 5 shows a protocol configuration of the embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 6 shows a communication procedure at the time of release, and FIG. 7 shows a data flow at the time of release. In the communication of the digital camera, only the Bluetooth communication protocol stack related to the present invention is shown.
It may have a communication protocol stack such as EEE1394.

First, as shown in FIG. 5, connectivity between LSIs and modules is secured by a physical layer including the RF 100, the baseband 101, and the Link Manager 102. U
SB103, L2CAP104, RFCOMM105,
The middleware comprising the OBEX 106 secures connectivity between the protocol stacks. And File Tra
nsfer107, application program 10
An instruction for processing and transfer of a photographed image and information related to the photographed image is given by the application layer 8. Where L
2CAP104 is Logical Link Control Application
OBEX stands for Object Exchange Protocol
Abbreviation of l.

The mobile phone has a number of protocol stacks in addition to the Bluetooth compatible protocol stack similar to the digital camera. In the middleware, an audio unit 112 for audio processing
Or RS-232C11 for serial communication other than USB
0 and PCMCIA 111, and a TCP / IP 113 for enabling connection to the Internet. The application layer consists of a protocol stack related to the homepage and a user interface. An HTML browser 116 is provided above the simple window manager 114 for mobile phones and the kana-kanji conversion engine 115, and a homepage is executed. In addition, a GUI (Graphical User Interface) is run by using a Java (registered trademark) virtual machine 117 and a CSE module 118 to run an HTML-based application 119.
Advanced processing can be performed.

Then, the portable base station performs wireless communication from the portable telephone between the base stations and delivery to the Internet network. In addition, a database on the Internet functions as a database server by accessing from a high-speed communication cable such as an optical fiber.

FIG. 6 shows a communication procedure when the digital camera is released. When the 1R switch of the camera is pressed, distance measurement, photometry, and charging voltage measurement are performed, and a connection establishment request is made by designating the device number of the mobile phone using Bluetooth. Then, the device number is stored in advance in the mobile phone on the camera side, and the device is specified by the device number, so that the user can surely specify his or her own mobile phone. When the ACK response is received, a connection with the mobile phone is established, and a request to start shooting is sent. Next, the mobile phone makes a line connection request to the base station, and after confirming the line connection with the ACK response, sends the database connection request to the database. Next, an ACK response from the database to the base station, and an A from the base station to the mobile phone
The CK response, followed by the ACK response from the mobile phone to the digital camera, indicates whether all lines to the database have been normally connected. Also, an NCK response notifying an abnormality,
Alternatively, an abnormality can be recognized because communication is not possible due to no response within a predetermined time.

Next, the digital camera lights and blinks the blue LED according to the communication status. Also, the green LED is turned on and blinked according to the result of the distance measurement, and the orange LED is turned on and blinked according to the charging voltage and necessity of light emission. The user can determine whether or not shooting is possible by looking at the LED when shooting, so that shooting can be performed with confidence. In addition, the mobile phone detects the position by GPS or the like.

When the 2R switch is pressed, the camera performs focusing, captures an image, compresses the image data at a set compression ratio, and transmits the image data together with photographing data such as photographing time. The mobile phone displays the image based on the transmitted high-compression image data, and sends the image to the database with location data, user information, and the like. In the database, the transmitted data is added. When the data is added normally, an ACK response, an ACK response,
An ACK response is returned to the camera. In addition, the blue LED in the finder is blinked twice after the image is captured to indicate that the image is stored normally. Thereafter, the line is disconnected, and a series of photographing sequences ends.

FIG. 7 shows a data flow according to the embodiment of the present invention. In the digital camera used in the embodiment of the present invention, image No., shooting date and time, comment, encryption information, compression information, and image data are created.
o, date and time of receipt, comments, and location information are created, and both are associated and stored in the database.

Next, FIG. 8 shows details of data stored in the database. In the database according to the embodiment of the present invention, various information related to each captured image is stored in an XML format. Therefore, one image contains XML information,
A high compression image data file and a low compression image data file correspond.

Further, a tag is used for the XML information, and FIG.
Are described as shown in FIG. First, the information includes a user name, a date and time, a shooting position, a comment, an information file name relating to compression, and information relating to a color profile for correctly reproducing a color tone. A file in which information on compression is described, a file on information on color profile and position information, a file on information on world time, and the like are stored separately from the information for each sheet.

Next, FIGS. 9, 10, 11, and 12 show a procedure for downloading an image from the homepage of the database using a mobile phone after shooting. First, FIG. 9 shows the LC of the mobile phone.
13 shows an initial screen displayed on the D display unit 53. A map of Japan on which a blue circle having a size proportional to the number of images taken is displayed. There is also a circular cursor 120 on the screen. Then, there is a button and input screen below, and the arrow cursor 121 is moved to the position of the circular cursor 120 and the button by the up / down / left / right set switch of the mobile phone, and the set switch (the center switch of the up / down / left / right set switch) is pressed. Switch between lighting and blinking. The blinking one is active, and when the circular cursor 120 is blinking, it can be moved up, down, left and right by the up, down, left and right set switches. You can enter the year, month and day when they are blinking. Move the arrow cursor to the selection button and press the set switch to perform the operation according to the screen. In Fig. 9, the cursor 1
After taking and blinking 20, the arrow cursor 121
Is brought to the enlargement button and the set switch is pressed, whereby Hokkaido indicated by the circle cursor 120 is enlarged in FIG.

In FIG. 10, similarly to FIG. 9, a blue circle having a size proportional to the number of photographed images is arranged. Date 2
By inputting January 2001, placing the arrow cursor on the selection button and pressing the set switch, the screen shown in FIG. 11 is displayed.

In FIG. 11, the number of images taken in Hokkaido in January 2001 is displayed by distinguishing between date, AM (am) and PM (pm). Move the arrow cursor to the square to the left of the date and press the set switch to enter
The photographed image is displayed on M. Six images shot on the fourth day are displayed sequentially on the left and right of the up, down, left and right set switches. Also, the shooting date is changed vertically. The user can move the circle cursor to any position in the image and press the enlarge button or the reduce button to enlarge or reduce the image. 9 and 10,
By pressing the DF button in steps 11 and 12, the screen can be made the default screen. Thus, an initial screen can be displayed when the user accesses the homepage next time. Even if the number of captured images is enormous, by using the position information and the date and time information, it is possible to easily display an image to be viewed even on a mobile phone with a small screen. In FIGS. 9, 10, 11, and 12, the database is accessed and necessary information is downloaded as needed. Further, as shown in FIG. 6, each information is stored in the XML format including the information item name and the content, so that it is possible to easily search for each information item.
Since the information item name and the content are combined, it is easy to increase the number of search items in a personal computer or a portable terminal having a large screen.

Next, FIGS. 13 to 18 show the procedure for downloading an image. This is a communication procedure between a mobile phone and a homepage (database). First, FIG. 13 shows the download of the initial screen.
Send a TML request packet. HTM containing the result of searching the database based on the default setting conditions
Download L data. Thus, FIG. 9 is downloaded. A map of Japan with a blue circle indicating the number of shots is displayed.

FIG. 14 shows a communication procedure when setting the screen of FIG. Based on the longitude and latitude of the selected shooting location, Hokkaido, the corresponding longitude and latitude images are selected from the XML data in the database, and a diagram in which a blue circle indicating the number of shots is overlaid on the map of Hokkaido is downloaded. You.

FIG. 15 shows a communication procedure when setting the screen of FIG. We narrow down search by shooting date. A search is performed using the shooting date of the XML data in the database. If no date has been set on the camera, the mobile phone searches for the date when the image was received.

In FIG. 16, a search for a compressed image is performed based on the shooting date. A search is performed using the shooting date of the XML data in the database. When the date is not set on the camera, the image is switched using the up, down, left, and right switches in FIG. If there is room in the memory of the mobile phone, by keeping the image before switching without erasing it, it is possible to reduce the number of downloads when returning.

FIG. 18 shows a communication procedure when the screen is enlarged or reduced, and no communication is performed when the data in the camera is sufficient. When the enlargement is large and the image is rough, an image with a low compression rate or an uncompressed image may be downloaded from the database.

FIG. 19 is a flowchart relating to the creation of the search map image shown in FIG. 9 or FIG. The search image data will be described below as being created by a server that manages a database on the Internet. This sequence is started when a search request based on location information is sent from the mobile phone to the server.
Then, the information of the longitude / latitude and the scale input by the input means of the mobile phone is received (step S1, step S2). Next, it is determined whether there is map information on the database based on the received information (step S).
3) If there is map information, obtain the map image (step S4). On the other hand, if there is no corresponding map information on the database, data of another service provider on the Internet is searched to obtain a map image (step S).
5).

The entire map obtained in this way is divided into ten parts in the longitude and latitude directions, and is divided into one in the vertical and horizontal directions.
An area of 0 × 10 is calculated (step S6). For each of the calculated areas (all 100 areas), the database is searched for the number of image data associated with that area as position information, and the number is counted for each area (step S7). The counted number is the number of images shot at a position corresponding to the area. In order to draw a circle according to the number of images, the radius r of the circle in each region is calculated according to the following equation (step S8).

[0049] With the center of each of the 10 × 10 regions of the map image as the center of the circle, a circle having the radius r obtained in step S8 is synthesized with the map image (step S9). Then, the synthesized map image is transmitted to the mobile phone (step S10),
This sequence ends. The mobile phone that has received the map image displays the map on the LCD display unit (see FIGS. 9 and 10).

At the time of image synthesis, if the area of the circle is made to be transparent blue or the like, the map image can be seen through. In addition, the number of images and the position where the image was captured can be easily understood. It is also effective to improve the visibility by blinking the circle area.

As shown in FIGS. 9 and 10, it is not necessary to display a 10 × 10 boundary line obtained by dividing an area on a map. When selecting an area by using the area, the selected position can be clarified by surrounding the area at the selected position with a square line.

The embodiments of the present invention have been described above, but the present invention includes the following inventions. (1) an imaging apparatus including an imaging unit, a time measurement unit, a short-range wireless communication unit, and a release unit; a portable information terminal including a position measurement unit, a short-range wireless communication unit, an image display unit, and a telephone communication unit; A server and database means on the Internet, wherein the imaging device responds to the operation of the release means by converting the image information output by the imaging means and the time information output by the time measurement means into the short distance Transmitted to the portable information terminal by wireless communication means,
The portable information terminal displays the image information received via the short-range wireless communication means on the image display means, and outputs the position information of the portable information terminal at the time of reception output by the position measurement means, An image storage system, wherein information relating image information and said time information is transmitted and received between said database means and said telephone communication means. (2) The system according to (1), wherein the portable information terminal has input means for inputting map coordinate information (latitude / longitude, etc.) and scale information. (3) The server receives the coordinate information and the scale information of the map from the portable information terminal, and searches the database means or the database means of another service provider for a map image corresponding to the coordinate information and the scale information. At the same time, based on the position information associated with the image information stored in the database, image information corresponding to the map is selected, the number of the selected images is counted, and the size corresponding to the number of images is determined. A pictorial symbol is created, and the pictorial symbol is combined with the map image in association with the position information of the selected image to create composite map data, and the composite map data is transmitted to the portable information terminal. ,
The system according to (2), wherein the portable information terminal displays an image based on the received composite map data on the image display means. (4) The system according to (1), wherein the portable information terminal has input means for inputting search information for searching for the image information. (5) The search information is a photographing date, and the server receives the photographing date from the portable information terminal, and based on the time information associated with the image information from the database means, retrieves the photographing year. Select the image information corresponding to the month, and create shooting date information including the shooting date associated with the selected image information and the approximate information of the image shot on the shooting date, and store the shooting date information in the above The system according to (4), wherein the image is transmitted to a portable information terminal, and the portable information terminal displays the received image relating to the shooting date information on the image display means. (6) The mobile information terminal is a mobile phone (1).
To (5).

[0053]

According to the present invention, it is possible to provide an image storage system capable of promptly responding to a change in the specifications of an imaging device.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a conceptual diagram according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is an external view of a digital camera according to the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is an external view of a mobile phone according to the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a diagram showing an internal configuration of the digital camera according to the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a diagram showing a protocol configuration according to the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 6 is a diagram showing a communication procedure at the time of release according to the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 7 is a view showing a data flow at the time of release according to the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 8 is a view showing details of data stored in a database according to the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 9 is a view showing a procedure for downloading an image from a database homepage with a mobile phone after shooting according to the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 10 is a diagram showing a procedure for downloading an image from a database homepage using a mobile phone after shooting according to the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 11 is a diagram showing a procedure for downloading an image from a homepage of a database using a mobile phone after shooting according to the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 12 is a diagram showing a procedure for downloading an image from a database homepage with a mobile phone after shooting according to the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 13 is a view showing a procedure for downloading an initial screen according to the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 14 is a diagram showing a communication procedure when setting the screen in FIG. 10 according to the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 15 is a diagram showing a communication procedure when setting the screen in FIG. 11 according to the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 16 is a diagram showing a procedure for searching for a compressed image by shooting date according to the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 17 is a view showing that an image is switched by an up / down / left / right switch according to the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 18 is a view showing a state when the screen is enlarged or reduced according to the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 19 is a flowchart relating to creation of a search map image according to the embodiment of the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

 Reference Signs List 10 database 11 Internet 12 base station 13 digital camera 14 artificial satellite 19/25 short-range wireless communication means 20 mobile phone 21 mobile phone communication means 23 image display means 24 memory 26 position detection means 27 input means

──────────────────────────────────────────────────続 き Continued on the front page (51) Int.Cl. ⁷ Identification symbol FI Theme coat ゛ (Reference) G06F 12/00 520 G06F 12/00 520E 5C054 545 545M G06T 1/00 200 G06T 1/00 200A H04N 5/225 H04N 5/225 F 5/76 5/76 Z 7/18 7/18 U F term (reference) 5B050 AA08 BA10 BA15 BA17 CA05 CA06 DA01 FA02 FA19 GA08 5B075 ND08 PQ02 PQ46 PQ69 PR01 UU13 5B082 EA07 HA05 5C022 AA13 AB15 AB40 AC03 AC13 AC22 AC32 AC42 AC73 5C052 AA17 AB04 CC11 DD02 EE02 EE03 5C054 AA05 CA04 CE02 CH02 DA07 EA07 FA02 FC16 FE13 GA01 GA04 GB02 GB06 GB16 GD03 HA00

Claims (5)

[Claims] 1. An image pickup apparatus comprising an image pickup means, a time measurement means, a short distance communication means and a release means, and a portable information terminal comprising a position measurement means, a short distance communication means, a storage means and an image display means. The imaging device responds to an operation of the release means,
The image information output by the imaging unit and the time information output by the time measurement unit are transmitted to the portable information terminal by the short-range communication unit, and the portable information terminal is received via the short-range communication unit. Displaying the image information on the image display means, storing the position information of the portable information terminal output by the position measurement means, the image information, and the time information in the storage means in association with each other. Characteristic image storage system. 2. The portable information terminal according to claim 1, further comprising an input unit for inputting character information, wherein the portable information terminal stores the character information in the storage unit in association with the image information. Image storage system. 3. An imaging device including an imaging unit, a time measurement unit, a short-range communication unit, and a release unit, a portable information terminal including a position measurement unit, a short-range communication unit, an image display unit, and a telephone communication unit. Database means on the Internet, wherein the imaging device responds to the operation of the release means,
The image information output by the imaging unit and the time information output by the time measurement unit are transmitted to the portable information terminal by the short-range communication unit, and the portable information terminal is received via the short-range communication unit. The image information is displayed on the image display means, and the position information of the portable information terminal, which is output by the position measurement means, is associated with the image information and the time information. An image storage system for transmitting and receiving data to and from database means. 4. The image according to claim 3, wherein the portable information terminal has input means for inputting character information, and transmits the character information to the database means in association with the image information. Storage system. 5. An image capturing apparatus, a portable information terminal, and database means on the Internet, wherein information relating image information and position information taken by the image capturing apparatus is transmitted from the portable information terminal to the database means. In the image storage system for storing, when the server of the database means receives the coordinate information for search and the scale information from the portable information terminal, the server acquires the map image corresponding to the coordinate information and the scale information, The image information corresponding to the map is selected based on the position information associated with the image information stored in the database, the number of the selected images is counted, and a picture having a size corresponding to the number of image information is selected. A symbol is created, and the pictorial symbol is combined with the map image in association with the position information of the selected image information, and the combined map data is obtained. An image storage system which creates and transmits the synthesized map data to the portable information terminal.